Commander Paul Savage

Commander Paul Savage joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1991 as a Recruit Quartermaster Gunner. After successfully completing training at HMAS Cerberus in 1992, Savage had subsequent sea postings to HMA Ships Brisbane, Whyalla and Labuan before transferring category to a Hydrographic Surveyor at the end of 1999.

Savage conducted specialist training as a Maritime Geospatial Officer - Hydrography (MGO-H) in 2003. He was awarded an International Hydrographic Organisation recognised Category B surveyor in 2005.

Savage commissioned in 2007; completing the Warrant Officer Senior Sailor Entry Course at HMAS Creswell before returning to sea to consolidate his warfare training and was awarded his Bridge Warfare Certificate in 2008.

In 2009, Savage was posted to HMAS Shepparton as the Executive Officer. A highlight of this posting was surveying the flood-swollen Brisbane River in support of Operation QUEENSLAND FLOOD ASSIST. In 2011, Savage posted to a tri-Service position at Headquarters Joint Operations Command as Staff Officer 3 Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Electronic Warfare (ISREW).

In 2013, Savage was selected to attend the Royal Navy H1 Advanced Survey Course at HMS Drake. A subsequent two year exchange sea posting with the Royal Navy as the Operations Officer of HMS Echo (SVHO, UK) was one of the highlights of his career, conducting a number of naval operations throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean.

Savage assumed Command of HMAS Mermaid in 2016, where he undertook surveys in the Northern Territory, Torres Strait, along the Queensland coast and Papua New Guinea until the end of 2019.

On completion his extended tenure in Mermaid, Savage posted to the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation - Wollongong, working within the Maritime Geospatial Program. 

Savage has Operational Service within East Timor, Bougainville, Middle East and Australian Border Protection. He is a graduate of the University of Plymouth (UK) and holds a Graduate Diploma in Hydrographic Surveying. Savage is an International Hydrographic Organisation recognised Category A Surveyor and Level 1 Certified Hydrographic Surveyor with the Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute.

Commander Savage assumed Command of HMAS Melville in July 2021.